


5 Reasons Fan-Fiction Is Better Than Actual TV Shows

by Mistymay6886



Category: Blood Ties (TV), Eureka (TV), Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Shadowhunters (TV), Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 5 Things, Essays, Gen, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I may have a problem, M/M, Randomness, This is weird, Writing About, more rambleling about fanfic, not really fanfic, quirky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 06:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11396895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistymay6886/pseuds/Mistymay6886
Summary: Okay, so I may have a problem. the last (Only) thing I wrote was me trying to explain fic to a few of my friends. I Was bored and got to thinking that I've read a lot of articles mentioning fanfic, but they always focus on the negative aspects of it; the weird, disturbing, WTF stories that exist at the edge of sanity. I actually, usually prefer fanfic over most actual shows. So, this is basically me, once again, trying to explain fanfiction to people who, in all likely hood don't really care. It's kinda written like a 5 reasons article like on many sites that I've read. Plus, it's a way to put a lot of links to my favorite stories.





	5 Reasons Fan-Fiction Is Better Than Actual TV Shows

 

** 5 Reasons Fan-Fiction Is Better Than Actual TV Shows **

  1. Sex 4.Sex 3.Sex 2.Sex and 1.Sex, end of list…



_Kidding_ , that’s just what comes to most people's minds when someone mentions fanfiction. Fanfic is NOT just about people boning! I know that's the most common thinking, but it’s really not. Yes, there is a lot of sex in fanfic, _of course_ there is. Sex is EVERYWHERE; in every show, book, movie, commercial, _everything_. It is absolutely **_permeated_** into our culture. That is just the world we live in, there is no avoiding it (believe me, I've tried). Saying all fanfic is just sex is like saying all scifi is Star Wars: is it a part of it? Yes; is it a pretty _significant_ part? For many, yes, absolutely; are there people who take it too far? Oh my **_god,_** yes. But, at the end of the day, it’s just one element of a huge, expansive universe of possibilities. 

 It seems like anytime you see anything written about fanfic it’s always about the most cringe-worthy things that they can find. It’s usually about how bad the writing can be, how explicit many scenes can get, or how mindbogglingly insane a story can go.  Those exist, no question and there is a reason for that; fanfic is written by the author, and **_only_** the author. For many, it’s a look into their minds, a glimpse into their inner-most (darkest, craziest, and yes, sometimes dirtiest,) thoughts. It is a way to express your most private thoughts and fantasies. For some, it's a kind of catharsis; a way to work through some of the confusing, depressing, at times even disturbing, things you're facing in your real life. For others it’s an escape from all that. It’s a way for someone who may, in person, be shy, awkward or somewhat introverted, to express themselves in a way that they simply _can’t_ in real life.  Then there are those who simply do it because they are intelligent, kinda quirky, and creative and came up with a unique, interesting story that they wanted to share; that, or they were drunk and it _seemed_ like a good idea at the time.

            Okay, rant done, onto my original topic. There are many reasons why some people may prefer fan-fiction to its source material, things like….  

  1. **Hate the way a story went? There is a story to fix that:**



 Fanfics are kinda like apps; there is one for everything. Ever read a book, watched a movie, or _finally_ made it to the end of a series, only to be left underwhelmed, confused or simply with a mental loop of _“Seriously!?!”_ **This is why fan fiction exists.** So much of fanfics are ‘Fix-it’ fics. Anytime I watch an episode of one of my favorites, only to be disappointed with how it went, I wait about an hour or so and go online It is almost a certainty that someone else was also disappointed and wrote something to fix it. Or, when they have the quick stinger for the next episode and you have to wait a week, or month or whole _season_ , and you just don’t have the patience, _damnit_ ; there’s a fic for that. Killed off your favorite character?  There’s a fic for **that**. Somewhere, online, they’re still around, even years later, they're still showing up; having adventures and storylines, all happy and healthy and totally _not_ dead (unless they’re like a ghost or vampire or something, fanfic really can go anywhere).

  1. **Find a narrative that speaks to _you_ :**



            I’ll be honest; all my favorite stories are slash. Slash, to those who don’t know (hi, welcome to the internet, you must be new) is when canon-ly straight characters are written as Gay/Lesbian/Bi (generally Slash is used for male characters, femslash is women, obviously). why is this so common? I don't know, It could be that there are a larger number of well written, interesting male characters. It could be because most shows just have more men on them. Or, as most fanfic writers tend to be female, maybe they think the guys are hot and/or they are just sick of everything revolving around boobs; whatever the reason, there is a LOT of slash out there.  My favorite thing about slash is that you get _actual_ story-lines with gay characters as opposed to just ‘gay story-lines.’ Let’s face it, most stories involving gay characters can be summed up as: denial, acceptances, depressing homophobic drama, come out, fade away ( or apparently, in lesbian stories:  all that, _end up hooking up with random guy_ , THEN die). Look, I’m fine with [coming out](http://archiveofourown.org/works/596965) stories, I’m good with [drama](http://archiveofourown.org/works/896117) and self-acceptance and all that, really I am.  When I’m in the right mood, I may even [actively](http://archiveofourown.org/works/185793) [seek](http://archiveofourown.org/works/485259) [them](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2378087) [out](http://archiveofourown.org/works/162908). But, honestly, most of the time I’d take [action](http://archiveofourown.org/works/298781), [fantasy](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9415796), [scifi,](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3361784) [lots](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8121124) of [humor](http://archiveofourown.org/works/204184), sarcasm, and explosions over all that emotional stuff any day.  I don’t watch shows or read to be pulled into serious ethical dilemmas or to be depressed, angered or annoyed, I’m watching/reading to [escape](http://archiveofourown.org/works/590407) all that crap for an hour or so! I like cheesy quotes, [ridiculous](http://archiveofourown.org/works/334222) action, and [completely](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6232192) off the wall scifi craziness. With slash, I can get all that, only with a little gay [twist](http://archiveofourown.org/works/431256). See, LGBT characters in stories, to me, are kinda like the romantic subplot. I like it, it makes it interesting and adds depth, sometimes it may even be one of the main draws, but if that’s _all_ it’s about, I’m out. I need more than just that to keep my interest. Again, that is what _I_ look for in a story; you [may ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6519214)[actually](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9098701) [like](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8021350) [romance ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6656080)[stories](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2319275). You may only like stories with straight characters. You may like stories that are dark and depressing and make you dissolve into tears. Heck, for all I know you may only like stories where all the characters are anthropomorphic Tetris blocks, I don’t know. And that’s **_fine._**  That is one of the best things about fanfic;no matter where your interest lie, no matter how traditional, quirky, or even downright bizarre, you can find _something_ that will appeal to you.

 I got a bit sidetracked again (fair warning, if you can’t already tell, I do that a **_lot_** ). anyways; most fanfic won’t follow cannon. The characters might not be dealing with all the same things as the show, they may not be in the same relationship as the show, they may not even be in the same _universe_ as the show; but **who cares**? Despite how obsessive some of us can get, none of these shows/characters are real; they’re all just fiction, and, I figure, if it’s all fiction anyway, you may as well follow the narrative that is most interesting to **you**.

  1. **Expansive, immersive, unique worlds:**



           

      Speaking of [different](http://archiveofourown.org/works/241584) [universes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1033614), one of my absolute favorite things about fanfic are [Alternate](http://archiveofourown.org/works/587903) [Universes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/681458). I love these because you can have your favorite characters in completely [different](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1139865) [worlds](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1091031), different [genres](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1073758), different [everything](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7008862). The authors of some of these can build an [entire](http://archiveofourown.org/works/987476), [unique](http://archiveofourown.org/works/987479) [world](http://archiveofourown.org/works/987483) [with ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/987490)their words and imagery. These can go anywhere from a [slight](http://archiveofourown.org/works/171194) [detour](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7816405) from cannon, to a [train](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7844215), [plane](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1069543), [possibly](http://archiveofourown.org/works/841356) a [freaking](http://archiveofourown.org/works/458021) [spaceship](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1496230) trip from where you started, which is why it is so appealing. You can have a [character ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/614080)that you [love](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1215343) in a type of [story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1468192) that would never get to see otherwise. These can be so creative, [unique](http://archiveofourown.org/works/497666) and expansive, that you almost forget what it’s based on. I have read a Hawaii five-0 story where one of the main characters was a [werewolf](http://archiveofourown.org/works/191117); there’s a Teen Wolf ( shut up, you can’t look up slash without running into this one, a while ago they were  [actively](https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrTcdAap1pZbEgAvoonnIlQ?p=ship+sterek&fr=yhs-mozilla-002&fr2=piv-web&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002#id=2&vid=d4918dc7447c6ccaa3ac17ce7c50eee6&action=view) encouraging slash) one that is set in a scifi/space type [universe](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6673714) , complete with aliens, space battles and a collective of assassins. There’s actually a few Supernatural ones where angels and demons are similar to the show, but they’re [aliens](http://archiveofourown.org/works/529431) or something [else](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7641493) instead (like I said, I like scifi). I love it when I find a really [well-written](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5844145) AU, where you can get completely [absorbed](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6514363) in the [story](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6160737). To me, these kind of stories are kinda like seeing a favorite actors that, no matter what they’re in, they still come off as the same person; Tom Cruise, Steven Seagal, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Sheen (Wait, bad example, let’s just stick with the firsts three, okay?).

  1. **Stories that are exactly what the author intended:**



            Okay, cards on the table? This one is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand; you get the story exactly how it was intended, not deluded, edited or censored; on the other hand you, well, _get the story exactly how it was intended, not deluded, edited or censored._ These works are all based on the authors’ preference; on their tastes, views and peculiarities. It can be whatever that one particular person thinks up, and, let’s face it, there are some pretty peculiar people out there ( once again, you are on the internet right now, you _know_ this) with some pretty twisted minds, hey, for all I know, you might be one of them. Their view may not appeal to you, it may creep you out, it may disturb you, it may even offend you; but the thing is, you can always stop reading and move onto something else, not _every_ story is written for _every_ audience. It’s not that hard to figure out: read what you want, ignore what you don’t. It really annoys me when I read comments on a fic and someone is complaining about something that was clearly explained in the tags/notes/exc.

            This also means that most of the writing is subject to the authors level of skill; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve went to check out a story with a plot that really interested me, only to have it have so many spelling/grammar errors that I couldn’t continue, was a bit too convoluted even for me to follow  (which, with me, is saying something) or, simply, veered into a direction that I just didn’t _want_ to follow. I’m not gonna lie, there is a lot of bad writing out there, but, the same can be said about any form of media; you can’t tell me you’ve never read a book or watched a show, got part way through  and thought “what the hell _is_ this?”.

    See, the thing I most love about fanfiction, is that you **do** get to see just that _one_ individual’s story. It isn’t a hodgepodge of ideas assembled from a group of writers like most media. It isn’t a story tossed together by focus groups, designed to appeal to the widest audience possible. It’s not about marketing, merchandising and monetary value. It’s just a story that someone came up with and felt that they wanted to share with the world, simply because they could; to me, there is something so absolutly fantastic about that (yeah, yeah that went weirdly sappy for me, but I don’t care.)

For all of that; for all the typos, quirky spirals, and bizarre porn (I said it wasn’t all of it, never said that isn’t where many end up) that exist in fanfic,  there really are some amazing writers in fanfiction that totally make all the rest worth it. Which brings me to…

** 1.Sometimes the writing is actually better than in the actual show: **

            I don’t know about you, but when I get a new favorite show, I like it right off the bat; love the characters, premise, story-lines, everything. Then it goes on for a bit and networks **just. Can’t. Leave. Well. Enough. Alone.** They add more characters, add more twists, kill off your favorites ( to be fair, this isn’t all on the show, sometimes the actors want to leave for whatever reason) or they add in unnecessary romances/ love triangles in an attempt to keep a show ‘fresh’. Note to TV writers   ** _STOP DOING THAT_**. If it works, _leave it alone_ ; give me more of the cases, action, bantering, humor and quirkiness that attracted me in the first place because **that is why I am watching _this_ show and not some sappy/overdramatic movie on lifetime. **Don’t add a random girl just so the main guys have someone to flirt with/sleep with/compete over. Not only is that sexist, but this is not the narrative most of the audience is looking for; I don’t want to see them trying to hook up with or competing over some random woman, I just want to see them; solve [cases](http://archiveofourown.org/works/170230), fight, make snarky comments and occasionally blow stuff up. Is that _really_ too much to ask?

            Sorry, this concludes the TV rant, I'm back. So, have you noticed how, after a show has been on the air a while it just kinda goes downhill? They lean too heavily on random tropes, they do a lot of ‘special’ or ‘themed’ episodes. Yeah, that bugs me too. There are some shows that changed so much that I stopped [watching](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1733711) altogether and have switched to just reading fanfic. The reason; some of these [writers](http://archiveofourown.org/works/283528) are [absolutely](http://archiveofourown.org/works/454255) [amazing](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3964132) at writing [stories](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3338093) that feel like an actual [episode](http://archiveofourown.org/works/36352), or an [entire](http://archiveofourown.org/works/107066) [**_Season_**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/107069) , of a [show](http://archiveofourown.org/works/655730), sometimes even better than most of the actual [show](http://archiveofourown.org/works/808703)s writers. 

An example; Psych was one of my favorite shows for quite a while. I loved the first couple of seasons, but as it drug out the stories got more convoluted and random. The premise was fantastic, but it seemed like many of the stories just kinda missed the mark. I get that it was mainly a comedy show, but it was also heavily driven by cases; for me, most of these just kinda fell flat and were forgotten in favor of slapstick comedy and the will they/won’t they relationship between the fake psychic and the junior detective he was usually working with (It’s a guy and a girl, you _know_ they will). There are some amazing stories that are exactly like an [actual](http://archiveofourown.org/works/358956) [episode](http://archiveofourown.org/works/97807), complete with the [flash](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10896318)backs and everything, only with more [adventure](http://archiveofourown.org/works/127634) and more compelling [cases](http://archiveofourown.org/works/358963). These writers can draw you in with the first few words and keep your attention all the way through.

Another of my favorites was Eureka. I actually liked this entire series, but at the end of the 3rd season they killed off one of my favorite characters. I loved the quirkiness of the show, it was funny and interesting with a good mix of scifi, humor and action. There simply wasn’t enough of this [show](http://archiveofourown.org/works/158617); with fanfic you can get a lot more ‘episodes’, This has also inspired some really great [AU’s](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6599332). they are just as fun, [interesting](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1259572) and [quirky](http://archiveofourown.org/works/451318) , as the actual show  just, you know, without the commercials.

Look, I know that many people look down on fanfiction; they see it as anything from badly written porn, the ranting of a lunatic, or basic copy write infringement.  Those stories are out there, no question, but that is just a part of it. A lot of it is well written, creative narratives that just take an existing idea and run with it; and honestly, how is that much different from any other media? Most of the characters from Star Wars are pretty much lifted from old westerns and samurai films. Every other movie or TV show that seems to be coming out is an homage to, spin-off or gritty reboot of _something_ else. Nearly every story is going to borrow some things from others. Most characters are gonna be inspired by others, wither it’s just a bit or in everything but the name; at least fanfiction writers are honest about where they are borrowing from. Bottom line, a lot of these writers have an amazing ability to weave interesting, creative, imaginative stories better than many who get paid for it; and they’re not doing it for money, fame or other forms of personal success. They just want to tell you a creative, interesting story. They want to entertain, to express themselves, and to give people interesting narratives that they can identify with that they may not be able to find too many other places; or like I said, maybe they were just drunk. Either way, it usually leads to something pretty entertaining.

 

 

***

okay so, I know I went a bit overboard with the links, here is, well, **_[yet another link to a list of all of the stories.](https://aceofhearts85.deviantart.com/journal/Link-List-For-5-Reasons-Fan-Fic-is-Better-723605762)_** It has the Fandom, Pairing, Name of story, with link, and a brief intro to the story. hope it helps!!

I know it's a pretty random selection...But, that's kinda how my mind works, so...

At least there's verity,

Enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> I'd say this is the end of my explanations, rambling, and such, but I really don't know. also, I do reuse, a few points from my last-whatever it was I posted- But i just used them for emphasis or to expand on.
> 
> ** There are two series buried in the links too. a four part one and two parts of a longer one. those links will be right next to each other.


End file.
